The £82m rolling stock manufacturing and assembly facility in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham is expected to come online on 3 September and will be Hitachi Rail Europe's first train factory in Europe.
According to Hitachi, the site will initially be used to build a total of 866 Class 800/801 Super Express Trains due to operate on the Great Western Main Line (from 2017) and the East Coast Main Line (from 2018).
Located in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, the new facility will also support the UK’s Intercity Express Programme (IEP) and manufacture a large proportion of the new AT200 commuter trains for Abellio’s ScotRail franchise.
The company is part of the Agility Trains consortium which has been awarded a £5.8bn contract to finance; design; manufacture; maintain and service the next generation of intercity carriages to improve the UK’s mainline rail services.
Hitachi has said that the plant will be capable of manufacturing 35 vehicles each month, and its production capability includes high-speed trains, commuter trains and metro trains, as well as offering research & development and an on-site test track on-site.
Reportedly, the new facility will create upwards of 700 jobs, including both skilled and semi-skilled technical roles for apprentices and graduates.
